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I completely agree with this sentiment, and that diversity in the legal profession is crucial for both the profession and society at large. But while nuance is not Twitter dot com's strength, a bit of nuance would be good here.
Nuance by the name of Bora Laskin. https://twitter.com/CBCAdrianH/status/1294709616929124352
Nuance by the name of Bora Laskin. https://twitter.com/CBCAdrianH/status/1294709616929124352
Bora Laskin was born into a Jewish family in Thunder Bay, Ontario. When he was born in 1912, young Bora would have been unwelcome in many hotels, public pools and clubs. His family wouldn't be allowed to buy a home in the certain suburbs of Toronto, Winnipeg or Vancouver.
When the future Justice Laskin graduated from U of T with a law degree in 1936, he likely knew how lucky he was to have gotten a place at all - that university, along with most others, had strict Jewish quotas, or (like McGill) outright bans on Jewish students.
When he tried to find an articling job (a prerequisite for becoming a lawyer), no one would hire him, because he was Jewish.
Even after Laskin was *Justice* Laskin, and had established his bona fides, the antisemitism which was engrained in Canadian society was still front of mind. In 1970 when he was appointed to the SCC, it had barely been ten years since McGill's ban on Jews was lifted.
There has never been a Person of Colour on the Supreme Court of Canada, but that is not to say that all of the judges on the Supreme Court have been White.
The Whiteness of (white-presenting) Ashkenazi Jews in 2020 is a legitimate discussion. My white-passing privilege is very real, and the absence of institutionalized antisemitism in Canada is also real.
The point of this thread isn't to minimize the white-passing privilege from which many Canadian Jews benefit (or the struggles that Jews of Colour continue to face). Whiteness is not static, and while I am White today, we weren't always, and may not always be.
Minimizing the accomplishments of Bora Laskin, and the very real prejudices that this Jewish boy from northern Ontario would have had to overcome, does him, the Court, and the arguments in favour of a more representative court, a disservice.
So as we talk about the unconscionable lack of diversity on Canada's top court, let's talk about how Canada has never had a BIPOC Supreme Court judge. That is true, and it has a very particular and cognizable meaning. Be intentional in this discussion, because it matters.
Point out that the lack of Indigenous judges on Canada's top court (and near absence from CAs) - in a country increasingly facing Indigenous legal orders and the ways in which they do/should, interact with Canadian law, is a continual renewal of the settler colonial project
Point out that the lack of Black judges on Canada's top court, when Black Canadians are disproportionately impacted by the justice system, contributes to the perpetuation of inequality faced by those communities.
Maybe that was what the original tweet was aiming for, but Bora Laskin was not White. Not in any meaningful sense of that word. He would not have been considered White through most of his life and career, and certainly not when Pierre Trudeau nominated him to the SCC in 1970
The next SCC judge should be Indigenous. And dont stop after just one! Lack of diversity in the justice system has broad & deep impacts that produce unjust/unequal outcomes in the lives of BIPOC. That is true, and in need of fixing, notwithstanding Bora Laskin's accomplishments.
Last point @CBCAdrianH - we've been talking about Ashkenazi Jews but Jews come in all colours and from all places. Exclusion of BIPOC from the @SCC_eng should be as much a Jewish concern as it is for other groups.
Thanks for raising this important issue in your original tweet!
Thanks for raising this important issue in your original tweet!
